Ensure you take up a realistic workload

In March/April, students are still relatively motivated (compared to June that is) – it is still very possible that you could be working at very high intensity because the year has really only began. Ensure that you are not overdoing the study – it is important that you pace yourself because consistency is very important. Make sure that you are sleeping enough and that you are not on the road to burning out.

If you are truly fixed on achieving success it may be a good idea to studying about 3 hours a night – more on weekends. However once again this depends on the quality of your study and how you prioritize.

Prioritize your time

Learn to focus on the most important tasks – there is no point in self-studying for English if you have a geography SAC on the next day. Always study for important assessments in priority to self-studying – it is important that you utilize your time effectively. Ensure that you prepare for the SACs by answering questions and do this a day before you SAC or test because that way everything will be fresh in your mind.

Don’t give up! Change your attitude

When things don’t turn out as we would like, it is easy to become discouraged and stop trying. It is very simple to lose track of your goals when times get tough – and most people do lose motivation and are more likely to give up. Be different! Choose to reframe your situation in a different way! Don’t just think “…this is hopeless I am not going to get a 90+” rather change your inner voice to something more positive that you actually have control over. Perhaps a better way to view things would be “Ok, so I stuffed up – how can I change my approach to the next assessment or how can I prevent this mistake for next time?”

It is important that you are empowered! The first attitude causes you to become de-motivated. How can you become motivated if something is hopeless? The second attitude invites CHANGE – it actually involves being proactive and learning from mistakes. If you adopt the second attitude, it will not matter if you make a mistake because you recognise that from every mistake it will shape and benefit you in some way! This is the art of turning any experience into a win/win situation and it takes practice.

Reward yourself

If you do well in a SAC or if you worked more effectively than ever before it is important that your reward yourself for this. Even if your SAC grade was a B and you happened to work really hard and effectively, you should reward yourself for having a good attitude. We don’t always get the reward we deserve – sometimes we work hard and battle along and obtain results that do not match our efforts. However if you have the right characteristics and the right attitude and work ethic the results don’t matter because you already have winning characteristics!

Even if you obtain a D in your SAC, if you have the right attitude and work ethic you will learn from your mistakes and change your results. The winner is already within! So put a lot of emphasis on your attitude because this is what is vital.

Review or make your goals

It is important to make your goals challenging but not too difficult that you have to live in fear and doubt. Always make your goals positively orientated – for example don’t make them “…this year I just don’t want to fail” as this is not aiming to a positive result. To construct powerful goals use the following steps.

(1)    Be specific

Don’t make your goals vague and unclear. Ensure that they have a positive motive. For example avoid saying “… I want to do well” because this is not specific. It doesn’t allow your mind to strive for a particular result. After all, every student has their own definition of what “doing well” is. For some students obtaining an 85 is an excellent achievement, whereas for others this would be “average”. So perhaps make your goal:

This year I want to obtain a 94.50 in my ATAR which means I have to aim for A/A+ in all my SACs and exams throughout the year.

Notice how this goal is specific and hopefully achievable (depending on your level). It also has a positive motive.

(2)    Have a good reason

Just because you set a goal – it is not a deep goal until you give a valid reason for it. Our goals will only be motivating when we consider why we want them in the first place. Don’t make the reason based on what other people want – ensure that your goal is important to YOU and that you are setting it for your OWN personal reasons. If your parents want you to become a doctor and this is your reason for doing well it will not be motivating when you begin to struggle in school

So consider what your life would be like if you got into university or how your career would benefit if you entered the university you wanted to.  So perhaps your reason may be something like:

I want to get a 94.50 because I will feel very proud of myself and it will allow me to be an engineer in the future – this will be a great opportunity to travel around the world, help local communities, help develop 3^rd world countries or earn a good, stable living.

Whatever your reasons are, ensure that you think about how your life will be benefited by the achievement of your VCE goals.

(3)    How?

Your goals are just dreams if you do not take the actions to make them a reality. You need to think about how you can make your VCE goals a reality and how you will modify your technique to ensure that the goals become a possibility.

Think about how much work you need to do and if necessary what sacrifices you will need to make in order to make your goals a reality. Perhaps you might need to watch less TV, listen more attentively in class, use your free periods in a more effective way or get more organized? The how is important because it has the power to turn dreams into action and therefore into reality.

For example:

If I wish to obtain a 94.50 I will need to study for 2.5 hours every night, learn how to work more effectively and really be committed to my studies. It might be a good idea to get a personal tutor so that they can help me stay on track with my goals and point out what is important to know and what isn’t.

(4)    Feel it

A goal becomes much more powerful when you feel it on an emotional level. Ensure that you reflect how you would feel if all your academic dreams came true. Imagine how you would feel if you were moving towards setting up the life you originally imagined. Visualize and feel how great you would feel and how proud you would be of your personal accomplishments. It is a good idea to do this every night as you go to sleep for about 10-15 minutes.

LESSON 1: Didn’t try or work hard enough

When students receive their ATAR score and it is not high enough to proceed into their preference, it causes regret. Students may feel like they do not have as many opportunities as during the VCE, since their ATAR is limiting them. Although this can be overcome, it causes students to be confused in their lives. To avoid the confusion and frustration take charge during your VCE! Try your best throughout the year and you will not regret your ATAR score.

There are not short cuts in VCE and no easy path, it is only through quality hard work that students accomplish top marks. There is no such thing as smart students – they are simply more committed and usually very hard working. This is what allows them to break through the competition and achieve a high ATAR score. Do you want success in the VCE? You need to have the absolute drive and unstoppable commitment throughout the year!

LESSON 2: Spent too much time and money on tutoring

At Academy Plus we do not recommend overdoing tutoring. There are many students that take up to 10 hours of tutoring outside of school. This is really too much because it does not allow students to think for themselves. Private study is an important way of becoming a better student. Using your own creativity to learn is a great way to begin to prepare for university. Independent learning is an important skill to develop to guide you through tertiary studies.

Another important factor is that tutoring costs money! If a student receives too much tutoring they may become lazy at school and not be as driven anymore. If a student over relies on tutoring instead of listening in class or taking proactive steps to improve their marks. This is really unfair on parents that usually pay out of their best intentions.

LESSON 3: Didn’t research their options carefully

Sometimes students don’t research the prerequisites required to enter a particular university course. They do not make correct choices during year 10 and then realize in year 12 that they cannot apply for certain university courses. Or they don’t know about UMAT and they forget to sit it in year 12. We really have seen it all!

Make sure you also investigate other options to your chosen career. It is important that you make back up plans to find alternative pathways to your course – especially if the ATAR score is high. This way, pressure and stress levels don’t need to rise to high levels and you are relatively relaxed throughout the VCE. It also gives you an option to fall back on, which adds a bit of safety.
LESSON 4: Inefficiency with time

Students that wasted too much time watching TV, playing computer games or simply procrastinating throughout the VCE usually regret it after the ATAR comes out. Since they know they didn’t really do their best they usually feel guilty that they could have tried harder – or at the very least maximised their time effectively. Being efficient with time is a great skill to learn for your university years and also for being an overall highly effective individual.

Time is precious and it is also irreplaceable – even if you have all the money in the world you cannot get time back. So try to maximise the quality of your time and how you use this treasure. In you spend time procrastinating it is likely that you are not really enjoying your time because there is usually guilt associated with it.

LESSON 5: Not thinking about what YOU really want

Parents hopes and desires often get thrown on to students. This is not because they are “bad parents” it is usually because they want to protect their children. Parents are usually doing the best that they can, as with any individual they have their flaws and limitations. Even if your parents have the best intentions it is vital that you follow your heart. If you really want to be an architect or graphics designer but your parents “see” you as a brilliant doctor – follow your heart. In this society we have doctors that would make brilliant musicians, musicians that would make great architects and architects that would make brilliant doctors! Because sadly people don’t make the right choices at a young age and ignore their heart’s desire.

Ultimately your parents will not be living your life – you are the individual that will have to study and work. It is better to be a fantastic graphics designer then an average doctor. Every known, successful person followed their heart and passion. Whether it be music, entertainment, comedy, art or even hair dressing – and ultimately these people broke through the competition because they wholeheartedly loved what they were doing. They have both money and happiness is their life because their job is not a “job” by a creative extension of themselves.

Students often regret studying science if they love law simply because of parental pressure. When times get tough it’s harder to persevere in a situation that doesn’t resonate with who you are! These students often drop out, or they simply don’t find enjoyment in their work. So avoid the HECs fees on courses you don’t enjoy – place your money into something that you truly love. Follow your heart and passion.

Talent is overrated

Talent can make individuals lazy and unwilling to commit. Although it is great to have a natural aptitude for logical thinking or academic style education – relying on talent is a common trap. Expect to do well in VCE based only on talent and you will find thousands of committed VCE students achieving equal or better grades. Don’t risk success based purely on talent – it is not a proper estimate of how much you can accomplish. Obviously some level of academic aptitude is required to succeed in VCE; however you can achieve a high ATAR even if you are an average student.

In the past we have seen many students with a natural knack of understanding concepts quickly and being very competent, however if they did not have the right attitude and lack of work ethics they did not achieve a high ATAR. In fact many average students do their VCE better because they don’t rely on talent but simply have a good attitude.

Attitude is vital

Having a successful attitudes is vital for VCE. Your attitude affects what is possible for you to achieve. If you expect to put in minimal work and look for short cuts to get a high ATAR, you are in for a surprise. If you are willing to persevere even during challenging obstacles and you have the heart and spirit of a champion – you will uncover success.  Attitude is crucial to succeeding in VCE, it is also crucial for succeeding in any life goal you may have. If you develop or have the following attitude characteristics, you are on your way to success.

- You are willing to work hard
- You don’t believe in short cuts to success
- Anything worthwhile to succeed will have challenged along the way
- You are able to overcome and preserve through challenges
- You know that you and only you are in control of your learning
- You are willing to learn and improve
- You have an insatiable desire to achieve your goals in VCE

Success requires hard work!

If you think that there is a short cut to success, think again! There are not short cuts, success in an area is mastery – and you cannot simply skip steps when you are mastering something. Everything must be done with precision, accuracy and with mindfulness. Skipping steps or rushing will not ensure success.

In VCE you may hear about students that are “super-smart”, it may seem like these students are just simply gifted. It’s easy to think that they have talent or are born smart but come on! As if they were reading the Heinemann Chemistry textbook in the womb! It is very easy as an outsider to make statements that certain students are simply “better” than them. This creates a large gap between a “smart student” and themselves. They begin to idolize a smart student instead of realizing the truth. The truth that “super smart students” simply exists because they were “super committed” towards their studies. The other truth is that you can reach the same level of “smartness” if you work really hard. If you are willing to work hard you will find yourself overtaking students that are not too committed – there are many of those students. Eventually you will reach students that actually care about their studies and with the correct attitude and skills you can still overtake those students too.

Therefore if you have talent in academic subjects use it! Don’t simply let talent work for you because other people that are hardworking will overtake you – no matter how talented or “naturally smart” you are. Remember that the under laying attitude is incredibly important as well as having a good work ethic.

Failure is not who you are, but a sign that the strategy used is flawed

Whenever we fail at a project, it is very easy to take it personally. We begin to feel bad about ourselves and can as a result develop low self-esteem. For example if your goal is to successfully run a shop however the rent is too difficult to manage, if you close it down, it is natural to feel like you failed.  If you feel like the reason that the shop failed was because you don’t have what it takes to run a business or that you attract “bad luck” – this will hurt the definition you have about yourself. Instead a better perspective to take is that the strategy you used was flawed. Perhaps your prices were too high or low, perhaps the location of the shop was not accessible to a lot of clients or maybe you did not have enough capital to promote or expand the business. In such cases the strategy is flawed, however it is not because there is something directly wrong with you.

Some students find that their marks define who they are and what their potential is. For example if they receive a poor mark for their chemistry test, they allow these test marks to define who they are as a student. Rather than seeing that it is probably their study habits, amount of practice and work habits – students may simply say that it’s simply their “fault” because they are not a good chemistry student. It would be more beneficial to reflect on your study habits – find out what you are doing differently than successful chemistry students and then adopt those features!

There is no such thing as failure – it’s only failure if you give up.

Although you may be disappointed about a result, it is not really failure unless you completely stop trying. Failure simply pushes you off course for a moment – however you have the power to redirect yourself back on road towards your goals. We will all encounter failure throughout our lives, this is natural. However people have very different ways of handling moments of failure for example, they might stop trying or lose sight of their goal. Remember that just because you “fail” it doesn’t mean that you need to stop trying – there is no point trying to be perfect in everything you do, rather it is better learning to keep sight of your goals, despite all odds. Remember ultimately you will be the one accepting or rejecting failure! If you have failed, don’t let it because the definition of who you are – instead decide why you failed and where the problem lies.

Failure helps you grow!

Many successful people in the past have failed in their lives more times than average people! Why do they succeed? Because each time they analyse their mistakes and learn lessons from their failures – and even though they may fail many times, they don’t take it personally. This attitude is what eventually reaps and attracts success towards them. Often we are programmed at a very young age to be perfect and that making mistakes is bad … however the truth is that it is only “bad” if nothing is done about it. If you continue to use the same strategy or the same mentality, failure is almost a guarantee. So allow failure to guide you, if you are taking the wrong strategy – failure will make this obvious.

Failure is subjective

Every person has their own definition of what success and failure means. Some students believe that success is obtaining a B+, other students see failure as achieving a B+. This shows that you make your own definitions about success and failure. In essence it is not really possible to “fail” – it is only possible to do so if you make rules about success and failure. Therefore it is important to closely analyse exactly what your definition of success and failure is – and whether you want to ease up on the rules you have set in order to feel more at peace with yourself.  Drop the need to be perfect – instead just do your best and as a result you will not feel so disappointed .

How to eliminate disappointment

• Realize that you and only you are in control with how you feel
• You can choose to energize positive or negative emotions
• Even if you feel disappointed, think what you can change to prevent feeling this way again
• Your goals are still possible – anything is possible to a willing heart
• Life isn’t about getting everything you want on a silver platter, there will be times when you have to stand up and try again after a fall.
• There is no such thing as failure until you give up
• Drop your need to be perfect – mistakes are part of improvement.

(1) Value your basic needs

If you don’t get enough basic needs such as sleep, proper diet, rest and exercise – it will be particularly difficult to remain in balance throughout the VCE. Balance is such an important factor during VCE – because without it you will find that you can burn out and lose motivation rapidly. Students that start their VCE year with too much intensity can lose energy for the rest of the year. It is best to simply value yourself and your right to basic needs. Don’t neglect sleep or substitute it with coffee – you will become tired and indifferent to your studies for long term if you do this!

(2) Learn relaxation and meditation techniques – and actually practice them!

Read about how to remain calm and centred. This state can be achieved even in the midst of chaos. Students often say “I don’t have enough time to meditate or just sit pointlessly” … what these students don’t realise is that meditation is not a waste of time! It is a method of improving the quality of your time. Meditation not only relaxes your body and reduces stress, but it also allows you to become centred and more focused. When we don’t meditate we become distracted by our thoughts and problems, our minds become scattered and we get carried away by petty and usually unimportant things. Individuals that meditate become more centred – they find inner stability and don’t get carried away by their thoughts and problems.

(3) Boost your confidence

Feeling anxious and scared throughout your VCE is often a sign of low confidence. Give your confidence a boost by changing yourself definitions. Challenge limiting beliefs and tags that you have accepted – for example if you believe that “I suck at Chemistry” ask yourself when you accepted this idea, why and what purpose it serves. Is it empowering? Or does it affect your marks in a negative way? Change these tags by replacing limiting beliefs with more positive ideas of who you are. It may take a while but it is possible to “re-define” who you are!

(4) Become effective with your time!

Your time is a gift – it is precious and limited. It doesn’t matter whether you will live to 35 or 85 or 100 either way every hour that goes by is an hour of your life that you will not be able to get back. Realize that your time is not infinite – every moment counts. So why waste this time on idle things? If you are studying maximize this time by paying full attention on studying. If you are going out, don’t carry VCE and problems in your head but simply enjoy your free time. Be sure to enjoy every moment you have and don’t simply throw away your time!

(5) Always do your best

If you really sincerely do your best, at the end of the year when your ATAR comes out – you will not feel guilty about the number. From the bottom of your heart you will know that you really gave it the best shot you had. So there will be no regrets! In fact it is great to integrate this into your own personal ethos. If you strive for perfection, you will find that there is a lot of resistance in your life. However if you strive for doing the absolute best that you can, you may achieve more than you believed possible.

(6) Stay organized

Write down important due dates and assessment details in your school diary. Keep your work in one folder or exercise book per subject. You will find that being organized saves a lot of time – because you don’t have to search for missing worksheets and important documents. Staying organized can help you become more efficient because you don’t have to waste time on pointless searching.

(7) Write a personal mission statement

Throughout the VCE, students get tired and some lose sight of their goals. This is perfectly normal – however it doesn’t improve your ATAR! It is better to keep your motivation levels more stable – this can be done by writing a personal mission statement at the commencement of the year. Make sure the VCE statement is realistic to achieve – but still high enough to work for the goal. For example don’t strive for 99.95 if you know that you have been an average student – because you may become discouraged and laugh at yourself in 6 months time. Rather perhaps aim for 85 or even 90, a score that could be achieved but requires discipline, focus and commitment. Give yourself good reasons for why you should achieve your goals. Make sure that they are convincing enough for when you are not motivated! So that you can get re-inspired about your goals again.

Have faith in yourself

Forget about other people believing in your potential! Although it is nice to feel accepted and supported it is fundamental that you believe in yourself first. Your parents, friends and teachers may believe in your capabilities and potential wholeheartedly but this is empty if you don’t believe in yourself!

This doesn’t mean that you have to become “cocky” and “full of yourself” – this is often a sign of low confidence where people need to paint a fake picture of who they are because they don’t like their real, authentic self. Know that you have the power and capability to change anything in your life – however you have to feel empowered to make a change. You must believe in your own self power and ability to make a difference in your life.

You don’t have to be perfect, you can just do your best

There is no need to achieve perfection. What happens when you want to write the most perfect English essay? You spend an incredibly long time writing the essay – because you need to come up with the most “perfect argument” etc. Often the perfection mindset blocks you from achieving a great mark because it blocks creativity due to micro-managing every small detail. Being perfect is not the goal, however doing your absolute best is important. By knowing you are working hard and really trying to do your best it takes away pressure. Now your priority isn’t becoming “flawless” it is doing the best with what you have. How can this increase confidence? By doing your best you don’t have to feel bad about your imperfections and weaknesses – ultimately you make the most with what you have!

Set yourself goals – and achieve them!

By setting yourself goals and accomplishing them – it can help your confidence levels. Why? Because when you set goals and achieve them, you begin to believe yourself more. How many times within your life have you said that you will do something only to find that you haven’t? For example you have decided to stick to a healthy eating plan only to find yourself eating a huge slab of chocolate cake 4 hours later? Most of deceive our own selves – we say one thing and then do the opposite. This causes confusion and mistrust in our own ability – we become powerless and sabotage our own potential. Rather, try to gain trust in yourself. Start of by setting small study goals – and achieve them. Slowly throughout time, your words will not be empty promises! If you say to yourself “I will get an A on my next Methods test” you will believe it! Because you have a great track record of sticking to your word – this will increase your confidence in your ability.

Change your posture and breathing!

Your posture can affect your physiology and therefore affect your mood! If you look at the body posture of depressed people, it is clear that they have similar characteristics. Their eyes are pointing downwards, they are hunched, breathing rate is slow and requires effort and they are frowning or have an upset expression. On the other hand happy people usually look forward, have a relaxed posture, deeper breathing and have a smile. Now you could argue that first a person gets depressed and then their posture changes – however the two are related. The state of your mentality affects your body and the body can affect mentality. One of the fastest ways to change how you feel is to change your body posture. Feeling tired? Sit up straighter and take deeper breaths. This is the quickest way to feel more energetic and cheaper than Red Bull! If you want higher confidence is what you want, find out what confident people do – for example how they walk, stand, sit and behave. Then mirror this physiology and watch your confidence grow!

Don’t give up!

You have unlimited potential – the only limitations that you have are the definitions that you made about yourself. You have decided who you are and defined what you can or cannot achieve. Perhaps family, teachers and friends contributed to defining who you are – but ultimately you accepted or rejected the definitions. Realise that these definitions can be changed – nothing is permanent! Who you think you are can be adjusted through correct awareness. So be sure to reflect on the definitions that you have accepted and change the ones that don’t help! If you think that “I am a weak maths student” ask yourself where this came from. Was it a low grade, insensitive comment or yourself being critical that caused such a definition? Does the definition help you achieve personal greatness? If not, why keep it? So re-evaluate your self-definitions and eliminate the ones that are not worthwhile.

It’s not a race!

Firstly there is nothing impressive about being the first one to finishing a test – ultimately your marks matter, not how quickly you have completed your work. There is no point rushing through a test or exam and find yourself with dozens of mistakes. Many students that rush through their work do not achieve high marks because quality also counts.

I’ve seen cases of where students have rushed through exams that they incorrectly read instructions, made mistakes in marking their multiple choice answer sheets, forgot to look at the back page of the exam … this is all a result of being careless.

Read the question carefully

Don’t just skim through the question, be sure to use your reading time appropriately. Make sure that you think about the question and be aware of any “tricks” the question could have. For example if there is a domain or important key work, take a mental note of it. Try to work through the question mentally as this helps you relax and remember key steps.

Be careful with questions you get “stuck” on!

In a VCE SAC or exam it is very important to be careful with timing. It is very tempting to spend a long time figuring out a question! In your own study time, it is beneficial to work on deciphering a question however in the exam there is little time for this. Be sure to leave the question and come back to it later. Sometimes when we stop forcing the situation, it is easier to come up with the strategy of completing the question.

Working too slowly? Time to practice the foundations!

If you find that it is taking you a long time to answer questions it is usually because (a) your foundations are weak (b) you haven’t practiced enough. When we learn something new, it often takes a long time to get used to it. The neuronal connections are not too developed yet and therefore it takes a longer time to process information. Therefore you usually work slower and have to think about each step carefully. However, eventually there is a moment where you begin to complete questions faster because of repeating the same steps.

Practice answering questions under exam conditions

Perfecting timing usually requires doing practice exams under exam conditions. Often students don’t sit down and time themselves when completing an exam. They focus on how to answer the question and miss the timing factor completely. It is vital that you practice at least 5 exams under exam conditions so that you can become more confident with timing. This way you will develop an understanding of the length of an exam – and it will also train you to stay alert and focused, especially for 3 hour exams!

If you have time, go through your exam again

Try to edit your work to improve the quality. So if you have some extra time – go through your exam or test and try to improve it. Elaborate on your responses and check for calculation or spelling mistakes. The presentation of your work will make it more “marking friendly” and teachers really appreciate this.

(1) Change your attitude

Firstly, it is almost impossible to succeed in an area of you have negative emotions or attitude towards it. If you find that you are beginning to disliking a subject don’t take it too personally.  There simply must be something you have not understood within the subject due to poor communication or listening. It is ok though – this can be fixed. Although it will take work to catch up, it is possible to improve.  An effective way to change your attitude is to ask yourself how you would feel if you were an excellent chemistry student. What kind of feelings would you have during chemistry? How would these feelings influence your attitude towards chemistry? Most students that “love” a subject are actually good at it. Most people begin to enjoy a project or subject once they feel capable in it.

(2) Understand the Law of Attraction

The law of attraction is a simple concept that links thoughts to results. It is basically a “law” that is developed on a very old concept – that your thoughts become your belief systems and eventually your results.  So watch what thoughts you energise about your ability in VCE Chemistry.

• Do you think that you are an inferior student and that you will never be as good as John Smith – because John Smith is a genius?
• Do you believe that you are not a good VCE Chemistry student because talented Chemistry students are born smart?
• Do you think your VCE chemistry teach is “out to get you”?
• Do you feel threatened by Chemistry homework because you have decided you don’t have the talent for chemistry?

How will these thoughts affect you belief systems? If you energise these thoughts over time, they will enter your subconscious mind. This is because the conscious mind can only focus on a limited amount of data at a time. The subconscious mind is a huge storage for thoughts and information.

What is important is to realise that your belief systems will define who you are as a person and student. Belief systems can limit your full potential or can set you free. You can change you belief system by changing your thoughts about what you can accomplish in VCE Chemistry.

(3) Be committed

To improve in VCE Chemistry you will have to work hard! Be prepared to study about 1 hour a day for VCE Chemistry – even if you don’t have homework. Set your own work! Take the intuitive to practice questions that are challenging. Taking correct action is very important for succeeding in any goal you set! You won’t get very far in life if you simply think positive but don’t do any action to achieve results!

(4) Find a capable VCE Chemistry tutor.

Yes, we are a tutoring company and obviously it is our business to provide tutoring – however we recommend tutoring even if you don’t select our tutors. Why? Because with the right VCE Chemistry tutor they will be able to provide great notes and questions that are different to your textbook. It is great to have a diverse range of questions to practice. This way your experience of VCE Chemistry is broader and you will become more confident with answering questions. A good VCE Chemistry tutor can also inspire and motivate you in the subject – you remain on track with your Chemistry. This can increase your confidence levels and improve your marks.

(5) Complete practice exams under exam conditions

To improve in Chemistry you need to practice your timing and accuracy in answering questions. A common problem during VCE Chemistry is that students do not have enough time to finish the exam – their exam time management is poor due to insufficient practice. It is a shame when students lose marks that they could get if they had more sufficient time.

It is very important to practice as many VCE Chemistry exams under exam conditions. This way you can work on your timing as well as your speed in answering chemistry questions.

(6) Learn to use your data book!

It is surprising how many students do not understand how to use the VCE Chemistry data book and waste time learning formulas that can be easily found within the data book. Be sure to use the data book throughout the year so that you have a good understanding of what information is contained within it.

(7) Make sure you express answers in the correct significant figures, scientific notation and the correct states.

Examiners will take off marks when they see that you are not writing your final answer in terms of significant figures. Also be sure to round off to the correct amount of significant figures only at the end of your answer. Throughout your calculations, you should be using the most accurate answer and carrying this throughout the question until you obtain an answer. If this answer is very small or large – you should also put it into scientific notation.

Also be sure to put the correct states into your balanced chemical reactions as this is also something that the VCE Chemistry assessors look at when correcting your work!

(8) Learn from your mistakes

If you have gotten a question wrong – be sure to learn from it! Circle the question for future reference (when you are revising). Find out exactly where you went wrong in the question and why your approach was incorrect. Make sure you know exactly what you did incorrectly so that it stays in your long term memory!

(i) Understand how concepts work
(ii) Memorise key definitions
(iii) Apply the knowledge appropriately in unknown situations.

In order to succeed in VCE Biology you will need to be disciplined in your studying – because there is so much to learn, it is best to study regularly to allow information enter your long term memory. It will also be essential to learn how to structure your responses to questions and your communication.  Finally it is important that you develop confidence in answering challenging application questions.

Your VCE biology SACs matter!

Although VCE biology SACs will be smaller in value compared to your exams, they are still very important. Overall you SACs will contribute to about 34% of your overall subject mark – so it is essential that you treat them seriously. Don’t listen to friends or students that claim “SACs don’t matter – it is only the exams that count” … SACs do matter, every single mark matters for the study score. Therefore aim to achieve your best during SACs. You can use them as a tool to improve your written communication skills and expression for your VCE exams.

Be sure to find out exactly what your teacher expects you to do for the SAC. Essentially your teacher will be deciding your SAC mark, so it is important that you follow their standards. If you teacher likes to see large scaled diagrams – include one! If your teacher wants you to talk about limitations of your experiment – make sure you focus on this section! Get to know your VCE Biology teacher – make sure you know what they expect from your SACs and ask them for tips.

Understand before memorizing

Most of VCE Biology is made up of concepts and definitions, however be sure to understand what you are studying rather than memorizing. Memorizing is empty without a deep understanding of concepts. During my Biomedical degree, I found that student that simply remembered terms often failed! Why? Because they did not understand the dynamics of the concept – and this is incredibly important. On the other hand I focused on understanding how all the concepts link up and interrelate – and although I remembered only 70% of what some students remembered, I always managed to pass with solid grades.

Understanding is what you want to achieve in VCE Biology – make sure you broaden your perspective by looking through other resources to develop a better understanding of the subject. Look for university Biology textbooks because although they are more complicated sometimes they have excellent pictures and descriptions. Check out some biology animations online or on YouTube. These are often great to reinforce how a concept or mechanism works.

Make sure you answer the question!

Some students are experts are rephrasing the question and speaking about a non-related subject. Often this will earn zero marks in an exam because the question is not answered. So always make sure that you read your response and ask yourself, “Does this response answer the question directly?”

Try to expand on your answers

If there are 5 lines available – try to fill them up with extra information. Elaborate on your answer! Show your VCE examiner what you know. After all you will probably be tested on a fraction of what you have learned within the semester or year. The exam is your opportunity and golden moment to show the examiner how well you have understood VCE biology.

You almost need to use the 1.5 hours (or soon 3 hours) to “sell” your ability – show the examiner that you care about the subject and they will be more likely to reward you.

Know how to spell VCE biology terms!

You need to know how to appropriately spell key terms in VCE Biology. Instead of just using DNA in your exam – sometimes you may need to write “Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid”. So learn the spelling of important key words, so that you can maximise your marks!

Never leave questions unanswered

This is of course unless you run out of time … However if you simply don’t know how to answer a question always try your best. Be sure to have a go, because sometimes upon writing a question the answer might click into place because you are challenging your mind to come up with something. So make sure that you always challenge yourself – even if you may be unsure about how you answer a question. Never mind if you still get it wrong – if you leave it you are bound to get no marks.

Draw mind maps

These can help you form links between concepts. It can promote you to understand the bigger picture. You will hopefully be able to understand how organelles work together or how photosynthesis and cellular respiration are related. By drawing mind maps you are using creative energy to express your ideas – this can often make learning more fun and enjoyable. It definitely breaks you out of a routine study pattern which can be often boring and ineffective.

Therefore don’t be scared to use creativity for learning! It can promote a better recollection of the important biology topics and help you understand the bigger picture.

Why is it important to remain positive during VCE?

Your thoughts are seeds that will reap action

Our thoughts are not simply insignificant events that happen in our mind. Just because you can’t see them, it doesn’t mean that they are not powerful. Quite often we believe that thoughts are simply beyond our control, that thoughts simply happen and that they cannot be selected. It is almost as if we are victims of thoughts – and that whether they are positive or negative there will be no difference in our lives. Right? Wrong! In reality the following is true:

(a) we can control and choose our thoughts

(b) our thoughts will become action and results.

Thoughts can often be seen as small seeds that can reap results. Choose to plant low quality seeds, and the results will be obvious. Choose excellent quality seeds – and you will have a lovely garden. Let’s consider a person that has decided that they are a “poor English student” – from an early age their teacher may have not believed in their ability or perhaps the student decided that they are worse than everybody else due low self-esteem. Whatever the case, the student decided to energise thoughts that tagged themselves as inferior to others in English. This is the seed they planted into their minds.

After that thought is planted, it is difficult to change it because the roots grow deeper. The thought becomes more automatic and stronger in intensity. Eventually the thought becomes a habit, and eventually converts into action and results. If a student continuously thinks that they are in adequate in English, every task they take up will be a struggle in this subject. This is because there will be continuous voice in their head saying “ I am not able to do this” or “I am not a good English student” or “I cannot do this task because I am a poor English student”.  Guess what, thoughts become reality – and the student will simply dig a deeper hole of self-doubt, low self-esteem and low confidence. Also their English marks will not improve with this mindset!

Luckily however, thoughts can be chosen! Ultimately we are the only ones that can control what we think about or what we accept to energise. Our life doesn’t simply happen to us, we have free will to choose our thoughts – and this is the most powerful free will of all because it guarantees a direct result in our life. So remember the following rule, not only for VCE, but also for life:

Thoughts   =   Results

If your thoughts are negative, this is not kept a secret! Just because it happens in your in head, it doesn’t mean that it won’t come out into the open. Since these thoughts become results, eventually by the results you have will be seen in the results you have. If your marks are poor – this is a result caused by a thought about yourself that turned into a belief and finally actions that converted into poor marks.

So be sure to monitor your thoughts – especially the ones that you energise most, as in long term these will become your own personal definition of who you are and what you can achieve. This is not only relevant for VCE but your entire life! If you think that you are a weak person with low immunity – you will become sick just to match this belief. If you think you deserve to be poor and broke – you will miss great opportunities to make money and invest in opportunities to cause you to remain broke so that you remain true to your own belief systems!

If your thoughts are positive and constructive, you will generate better results. If you know that you are capable of excelling in your studies and that you are able to handle challenging situations – your core belief will be that “I am a capable student”.  This is a positive belief system and will allow you to excel in your studies because you will match your belief system.

Positive thinking reduces stress and clears the mind

Positive thinking brings stress to a normal and healthy range. It allows people to remain optimistic about the future and their goals. It is important to have hope for the future as this will keep you motivated.

Negative thinking promotes negative emotions and slows people down. It clatters the mind, keeping this individual trapped with fear and self-doubt. Such states do not in any way promote success. It also increases stress experienced and often causes learning to be a difficult process and full of resistance. Everybody goes through periods of negative thinking – this is natural for humans, however it is important to recognise when your thinking is negative and consciously transform it back to a positive framework.

Positive thinking promotes a better memory

Positivity has been linking to a better memory capacity. Individuals that are positive have better brain activity which promotes a better working memory! Once again it is clear that thinking positive is not just about the results you will get in the future , it also improves the way that your mind works!

Positive thinking makes you happy!

Why not indulge in thinking that makes you happy over long term? The more positive your thinking is – it will strengthen your own happiness. We often believe that happiness is only possible when our life it “turning out”, but this is false. Happiness is really a state of mind – and it is a choice. There are plenty of rich people out there that are unhappy, whereas many people that have very little and are full of joy and happiness. What is the difference? Is it their external environment? Not really! It comes down to their thinking – they realize that their thinking can give them more happiness then the external situation!